OFFICE BEARERS

CHAIRMAN                    
David Martin                  
Tel. 07597 301748

DEPUTY CHAIRMAN                    
John Parker                   
Tel. 07970 568425

SECRETARY                   
Allan Black                   
Tel. 07512 022949

TREASURER                   
Duncan Pickard                  
Tel. 01334 870203

TALKS CONVENOR             
Graeme Hogg             
Tel. 01334 653043

COMMITTEE MEMBERS     
Jim Lawrence                
Maurice Shepherd           
David Sinclair 

ASSIST. SECRETARY        
Vic Broad

ASSIST. TALKS CONVENOR        
Bill Bowman

TALK RECORDERS         
Vic Broad      
Tony Miklinski                
Brian Murray                  
Graham Pirie

...........................

Wednesday

13th August 2025

10.00am

Talk: 'The Leighton Library'

Presenter: Alastair McDonald

MEMBERS PAGE

To access the MEMBERS page enter your password in the box above

Club News

Secretary email: macblack.author@gmail.com

There was an excellent turnout of members at our meeting on 13th August in Castlehill Hall where Chairman David Martin welcomed our speaker, Peter Forster. Peter visited us last year and told us all about having been Captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club. This time his talk is with his business cap on to give an insight into the specialist work done at Peacehill Farm, near Wormit.

Peace Hill AD Plant

Members at the meeting were fascinated by the talk Peacehill AD Plant, given by Peter Forster. His farm near Wormit uses anaerobic digestion (AD). We heard about developments in farming around AD, a process that enables pollution created on the farm (eg hen hemp) to be used to generate energy for use by the farm and to be fed into the energy grid. Who would ever have thought that waste matter from chickens could ever be put to such a beneficial use?

In the early stages of development and learning they visited some German farms already adopting such techniques. In Germany gas generated on the farm was used on the farm and injected into the network. Sadly, it seemed that UK farms were behind with developing and considering such an approach.

But Messrs Forster and family were not put off by the “can’t do” attitudes which they encountered in Scotland and the UK at large. The Fife farm was told they could not generate gas and inject this into the network but when it was pointed out this was being done already in some English farms miraculously a can-do attitude then emerged. It seems that basically the energy company had an approach of “can’t be bothered.”

Thanks to the entrepreneurial spirit of the Fife farming organisation they have risen above this negative stance and are continuing to develop, which will be beneficial for all as we move forward. The farm has invested heavily in technology and machinery and significant sums of money have been involved. This then questions the current political approach regarding inheritance tax which farmers and their families face.  

From the questions asked at the end it was obvious the talk captured the interest of members

A vote of thanks was then given by Eric Towns.

Vic Broad